Ivy Bridge without the HD Graphics
Intel released a Core i5 Ivy Bridge CPU that does not include integrated graphics with a lower cost.
The processor market is kind of stale these days; there aren't a lot of releases and the dominance of Intel in the high-end CPU market kind of makes things uninteresting. We still have lot of great AMD processors in the low and mid-range markets but if you want a $200+ card part you will probably find your way into the world of Intel.
Today's processor review cuts across segments with a unique twist. The Intel Core i5-3350P can be picked up at Newegg.com for $189 putting it right in the price point of the AMD FX-8150 (Zambezi) and the AMD FX-8320 (Vishera). It also undercuts the very popular Intel Core i5-3570K by $50 or so while still offering some impressive performance results.
The only catch: this Ivy Bridge based processor does not include any integrated graphics.
The Intel Core i5-3350P
Intel recently released a couple of Ivy Bridge based processors that have disabled the integrated graphics completely, the 3350P being one of them. This allows Intel to sell processor die that might have a defect on the GPU portion to increase the relative yield rate of their 22nm process and also gives them another weapon to fight off any pricing competition from AMD.
The Core i5-3550P disables the graphics portion completely as well as includes 2MB less L3 cache for the four cores to access. Without the graphics portion keep in mind that the 3350P does not include support for QuickSync transcoding technology.
Clock speeds on the i5-3350P are a bit lower than other IVB parts with a base clock of 3.1 GHz and a top boost speed of 3.3 GHz. That is 600 MHz lower than the Core i7-3770K and 500 MHz less than the Core i5-3570K. Without that "K" designator the 3350P is also not multiplier unlocked meaning you will be limited in your overclocking (which we discuss on a later page).
That 600 MHz clock speed gap between the 3350P and the 3770K is pretty significant: 18% of top performance essentially. Because of that you shouldn't expect the i5-3550P to suddenly become the best performing part with disabled graphics – instead you will be getting a mildly discounted part for those instances where you are sure you won't be utilizing it.
Processor Testing Configuration
For our Ivy Bridge review we tore up our previous CPU test bed and completely rebuilt it from both a hardware and software perspective. With that in mind, we wanted to make sure you were completely up to date on what hardware and testing methods we are using for the review today (and going forward).
Just in time for the review, Corsair sent us a 16GB kit of four DIMMs capable of running at 2400 MHz at 1.65v. With support for higher memory clocks and the potential to see some interesting motherboard metric scaling with faster memory, we wanted to make sure we had some of the best modules from our partners available. Also sent in were four Kingston HyperX DDR3-2400 modules in a 4 x 2GB configuration so we are sure we always have the right memory for the job.
Having previously used the PC Power and Cooling Turbo Cool 1200 watt power supply for CPU testing, I was eager to gain my hearing again and upgrade to a quieter unit. Corsair sent over the Professional Series AX 650 watt power supply for our CPU test bed and the unit was able to provide completely stable power while also operating at a nearly silent sound level.
To keep our CPUs at low temperatures with reasonable sound levels, Corsair supplied us with a Hydro Series H80 cooler. We further decided to use only one of the two 120mm fans it comes with. Even in our overclocking testing, the H80 was able to keep things running stable!
Our GPU of choice for this newly upgraded GPU test bed is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 Ti.
Included in our results today are the following CPUs:
- Core i5-3350P – Ivy Bridge
- Core i5-3470 – Ivy Bridge
- Core i7-3770K – Ivy Bridge
- Core i7-2600K – Sandy Bridge
- Core i5-2500 – Sandy Bridge (simulated)
- Core i3-2105 – Sandy Bridge
- Core i7-3960X – Sandy Bridge-E
- Core i7-3820 – Sandy Bridge-E
- Core i7-920 – Nehalem
- AMD FX-8150 – Bulldozer
- AMD Phenom II X6 1100T – Thuban
With this change in hardware comes a revamp of the software used for our testing as well. Here is the new suite:
- SiSoft Sandra 2012
- Handbrake 0.9.6
- x264 HD Benchmark v4.0
- Cinebench 11.5
- POV-Ray 3.7
- Euler3D
- 7zip 9.20
- TrueCrypt 7.1a
- PCMark 7
- Basemark CL v1.0
- 3DMark Vantage
- 3DMark11
Let's see what these processors can do!
Good article. but I want to
Good article. but I want to know if a processor with HD Graphics is better than one without. I’m a hardcore PC gamer.
How many cores is good for gaming.
If you are using a extra
If you are using a extra graphics cart then it makes no difference. Because when you play a game the pc will automatically use the most powerful gpu.
My motto is “less is better”
My motto is “less is better” and as far as weight, I have to be able to carry it all in one tote bag. In doing so, you might consider a document found on the CTIA’s web site, entitled “Safe – Driving – Talking – Points2” (created June 6, 2006) that states “But for some reason, legislative efforts to prevent driver distractions have been narrowly focused on wireless phone use. So, I kept his information, and phone number in case I decide to start another cool, or hot rather, business.
Multiplier 37 ? Is it
Multiplier 37 ? Is it possible ?
What I take from this is that
What I take from this is that the only CPU improvement over my aginge i7-920 nahalem (which has HT) is that it will use a lot less power.
Seems no point to “upgrade” still from an “old” 920.
You nehalem quad is good for
You nehalem quad is good for a few years yet!
What motherboard was used to
What motherboard was used to overclock ?
What motherboard was used to
What motherboard was used to overclock ?
Thx in advance 4 reply.
I done the same with a MSI
I done the same with a MSI Z77A-G41, just can’t have a 37x multiplier in charge but 35x so i had 3675Mhz for nothing !
I have that mobo too, and I
I have that mobo too, and I wanted this proc…. but it was out of stock so I had to go with a i5-3470. I was not able to go past x36, but hey I’m fine with 3.6 Ghz.
I have the Mobo Asrock z77
I have the Mobo Asrock z77 pro 3 and a i5 3350p, i set the Multi of 37, but he go no on 3,7 ghz. By 3,5 ghz for all cores ist the limit, i don´t understand it. i hope everywhere can help me, with the right setting, sorry for my bad Englisch
Great procesor.Runs all new
Great procesor.Runs all new games at max settings.Paired with good graphic card its excellent gaming beast.No need for stronger.
Will a GTX 670 graphic card
Will a GTX 670 graphic card run properly on this one? what about 2×670 SLI?
Will a Radeon 7850 or GeForce
Will a Radeon 7850 or GeForce GTX 650 Ti work with it?
i have the i5-3350p paired
i have the i5-3350p paired with an evga gtx 660 sc and games run great at 1080p. crysis 3, tweaked with geforce experience, runs at 45-60 fps so a 650 ti should work just fine.
Thanx a lot. Your review was
Thanx a lot. Your review was very helpfull. 😉
How work i53350p with my gpu
How work i53350p with my gpu 6850Toxic?
3,7ghz stable on msi p67gd65
3,7ghz stable on msi p67gd65 mobo.checked in games-metro ll and crysis 3.gpu hd 7870.
1st of all – those voltages
1st of all – those voltages are way to high
here’s what I do. Lover the Pll to 1550 > then ur CPu will idle <0.9 and will reach tops full load at 1.03
I have z77 GD65
My clocks are stable even with block overclock 104. SO i get over 3.8 easily on air <60degrees with auto voltage <1.1
Turbo rocks. Why have the clocks high all the time.
I'm pretty sure there can be improvements and tweaks but nobody investigated (maintained high clocks and such)
Hey Gruia.
Would you mind
Hey Gruia.
Would you mind writing down your settings or maybe making a small tutorial on how exactly to get this 3350p CPU to that 3.8 you mentioned ?
I just got one such CPU and I’m interested in getting out of it all the juice it has, while still being stable for games and other software.
Thanks.
if you have msi mobo with oc
if you have msi mobo with oc genie its no problem.Set in bios cpu ratio in windows enabeled,its on oc menu.Save changes and restart pc.go to msi control center.Set cpu ratio on 35 and base clock on 104 mhz,thats it.Dont touch cpu voltage,leave it on auto.
I bought one of these and
I bought one of these and have been using it for a year – before this build I was using a pentium 4 HT, so obviously I saw a massive performance boost, but I was still expecting worse than I got. This rocks for gaming, which is more GPU intensitive anyway, and it’s solid specs make for an excellent speedy video encoder. FFmpeg works superbly for me, and since I upgraded from 2GiB to 6GiB of RAM, I’ve never once had a lock-up or hang (besides when I killed init in linux… my fault).
It can emulate gamecube and wii games at full-speed (60fps) in the dolphin emulator under linux, so I am confident that this CPU is plenty to handle anything you throw at it. While there are better CPU’s out there, for the extra 20% speed boost I don’t think it’s worth an extra $300. This does everything you need.
My motherboard is an AsRock H77M, and my GPU is a cheap (~$65) Galaxy nvidia GT 630 card, 1GiB buffer, and because I already had some parts (case, hard disk, PSU) from my old pentium 4 HT pc, I only spent about $300 total on an awesome computer – totally functional (but it looks like crap, because it’s in a dell dimension case). my sound card is a SoundBlaster Audigy 2 that i got free from a friend who threw out his old PC.
Didn’t have to upgrade my PSU because the GT 630 and 3350p use such small amounts of power – 340w is plenty. off the top of my head, my graphics card uses 120 watts, and the CPU uses 88 – i only use around 208 watts and I get awesome performance – although my most demanding game is Super Smash Bros. Brawl in dolphin.
Still, i have plenty of room to get a more powerful card, and I still have a great PC for everything I do.